In the Hallam Laboratory, I am investigating carbon cycling processes mediated by terrestrial and aquatic (freshwater and marine) microbial communities in a bog forest ecosystem on Calvert Island, British Columbia (www.hakai.org). This ecosystem is representative of coastal temperate rain forests, where large amounts of organic matter are sequestered in forest soil and cycled between terrestrial and aquatic environments. Global climate change is expected to have significant effects on carbon cycling in these ecosystems, predominately due to changes in temperature and precipitation patterns. Presently, one-third of global soil carbon exists in northern peatlands, such as this bog forest ecosystem, yet they occupy only 3% of global land surface area, and climate change will likely affect the degree to which these environments persist as carbon reservoirs. Therefore, it is important to characterize the present system, creating a baseline, in order to monitor the effects of global change on the bog forest ecosystem over time. To do so, I will use multi-molecular (DNA and RNA) sequence data to characterize the diversity, metabolic potential, and gene expression of the microbial communities across the bog forest landscape and into the adjacent marine environment throughout the year. I will couple this genomic information with measurements of organic matter character to examine interactions between local microbial communities and organic matter sources at varying temporal and spatial scales. This research will help us predict how microbial communities and related biogeochemical processes will withstand, or change as a result of, climate perturbations in these unique forest ecosystems.

Education:2006 - 2011: Ph.D. in Oceanography, University of Washington School of Oceanography (Advisor: Jody Deming)2004 - 2006: M.S. in Oceanography, University of Washington School of Oceanography (Advisor: Jody Deming)2000 - 2004: B.S. in Oceanography, University of Washington School of Oceanography

Work Experience:2014 - Present: Post-doctoral Fellow in Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia (Postdoctoral advisor: Steven Hallam) 2011- 2013: Post-doctoral Research Scientist at Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and Oregon State University (Postdoctoral advisor: Byron Crump)